Ben Joyce blazes Bobby Witt Jr on three heat-seaking missiles

Bobby Witt Jr. isn’t someone you often see flailing at the plate. With a bat in his hands, he’s usually all business, leading the American League in hits and batting average. But on this particular night, Ben Joyce had something else in mind. The young pitcher, armed with a fastball that could blister your eyelids, delivered a performance that left even the sharpest of hitters like Witt shaking his head.

Witt, with his steady approach and quick hands, has been a headache for pitchers all season. But when Joyce, the rookie right-hander with a reputation for heat, stared him down from the mound, it was clear this wasn’t going to be just another at-bat. The first pitch came in like a bolt of lightning: 104.8 mph, the second-fastest pitch of the year. Witt took a cut, and just like that, it was strike one. This kid was bringing it.

Wasting no time, Joyce fired off another fastball, this time clocking in at 104.5 mph. Witt, a guy who rarely misses, was left swinging at nothing but air again. Two pitches, two whiffs, two strikes.

Now, most pitchers might mix it up at this point - maybe drop a breaking ball, give the hitter something off-speed to think about. But Joyce? Nah, he stuck to what he knew best. He let loose one more heater, though by his standards, it was practically a changeup at a paltry 103.2 mph. Witt swung one last time, and once more, he came up empty. Three pitches, three swings, three misses. It was the first time since pitch tracking began that anyone had pulled off a strikeout with three pitches, all over 103 mph. And wouldn’t you know it? The only other guy to do something even close was Joyce himself, just a few weeks ago.

This young fireballer is more than just a novelty act, though. He’s putting up numbers that make you sit up and take notice. Joyce has been lights out in 22 of his 26 appearances, racking up 26 strikeouts over 29.1 innings. And when he’s been called on to close the door, he’s done it with a calm that belies his age. His manager, Ron Washington, sees it too, saying, “Joyce is gonna be something special. Every time you tell him something that educates him, he finds a way to use it.” High praise from a man who’s seen plenty of talent come and go.

Joyce’s journey to the big leagues hasn’t been your typical one. Just a couple of years ago, he was turning heads in the SEC with his scorching fastballs, setting records at Tennessee that seemed more like tall tales than fact. A 105.5 mph fastball at just 21 years old? You’d think someone made that up over a few beers. But here he is, just a few years older, and already he’s growing into that golden arm of his, combining raw power with a maturing sense of how to use it. It’s the kind of combination that makes you wonder just how high his ceiling really is.

So, on this night, Bobby Witt Jr. might have walked back to the dugout with a bit of frustration, but you get the feeling he wasn’t too upset. He knows talent when he sees it, and so does anyone who watched Ben Joyce put on that show. It’s a reminder that in baseball, no matter how good you are, there’s always someone younger, hungrier, and, in this case, faster, waiting to make their mark.